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21 September 2012

Krugman turns it up to 11

No more Dr. Nice Krugman. Today's New York Times column, Disdain for Workers, hits the GOP with both barrels. I know a lot of people accuse Krugman of being a partisan hack, but that's not really true. He's been sharply critical of Democrats' policy, too ... he just thinks the Republicans are categorically worse.

In the eyes of those who share this vision, the wealthy deserve special treatment, and not just in the form of low taxes. They must also receive respect, indeed deference, at all times. That’s why even the slightest hint from the president that the rich might not be all that — that, say, some bankers may have behaved badly, or that even “job creators” depend on government-built infrastructure — elicits frantic cries that Mr. Obama is a socialist.

Now, such sentiments aren’t new; “Atlas Shrugged” was, after all, published in 1957. In the past, however, even Republican politicians who privately shared the elite’s contempt for the masses knew enough to keep it to themselves and managed to fake some appreciation for ordinary workers. At this point, however, the party’s contempt for the working class is apparently too complete, too pervasive to hide.